Bellator champ Pat Curran out of first title defense with injury

Bellator featherweight champion Pat CurranBellator featherweight champion Pat Curran has fallen out of his first title at Bellator 73 defense due to injury. He was set to face tournament winner Patricio "Pitbull" Freire, but the promotion's chairman and CEO broke the news that Curran fractured his orbital bone and will be unable to compete.

ESPN was the first to report the news. It is currently unknown if Freire will stay on the card, which takes place Aug. 24 at Harrah's Tunica Hotel and Casino in Tunica Resorts, Miss.

In 2011 Curran won that year's Bellator featherweight tournament. In the finals, he scored an upset of former Sengoku champion Marlon Sandro. He then put his title shot to good use and bested then-champion with one of the most brutal knockouts of the year. Curran has also picked up wins in Bellator over Roger Huerta, Toby Imada and Ronnie Mann.

Freire is 5-1 under the Bellator banner and 17-1 overall. His only career defeat was a dubious decision to Warren in the finals of the promotion's inaugural featherweight tournament. He returned in 2011 and defeated Georgi Karakhanyan, Wilson Reis and Daniel Straus to earn another shot at the belt.

Bellator 73 will be the final event of Bellator's "2012 Summer Series." The event will feature a bantamweight finale between Marcos Galvao and Luis Nogueira. In the finals of the light heavyweight tournament, Travis Wiuff will look to earn a rematch with champion Christian M'Pumbu against Slovak Attila Vegh.